4th Annual Council Cleans the Pool Day on August 13th

On Thursday, August 13th at 9 am, Austin City Council members and other elected officials will join volunteers from the Friends of Barton Springs Pool and city staff to clean algae and silt from Barton Springs Pool next Thursday morning. The two-hour session will kick off at 9 am with a short tour and press conference, with the officials and volunteers then stepping down into the cold spring waters to scrub the shallow end bottom.

It will be the fourth annual Council Cleans the Pool Day put on by Friends of Barton Springs Pool (FBSP). The group formed in 2006, another drought year, to respond to the algae blooms that clogged the pool that year. Since then FBSP volunteers have worked side-by-side with pool lifeguards to help keep the pool clean. Inviting council members to the pool to see conditions first hand quickly became an annual tradition.

“We learn by doing,” commented Robin Cravey, FBSP president. “Actually getting in the Pool and working with our hands to clean it has given us a growing understanding of this dynamic ecosystem. I think this event provides the council with valuable insight.”

The day will begin with a short tour of pool cleaning facilities and a look at problems with the bypass tunnel. Then elected officials and members of the FBSP Board will hold a brief press conference. The press conference is often an opportunity for officials to comment on the progress of the Barton Springs Pool Master Plan, which envisions an array of improvements to the pool, grounds, and facilities.

Talking done, the officials will begin their watery work. They will work in water up to their waists, pushing brooms and buffers to scrub the bottom, and dragging nets to skim the surface.

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Our Mission

We work to inspire an appreciation of the rich history of Barton Springs Pool and pride in this natural treasure. We honor the pool’s sensitive environment and work to preserve and protect it so that we, and generations long after ours, can continue to enjoy the cool, clean spring waters.